Wheat Kings Dinner a Success
February 5, 2016 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release
Brandon, MB. - The Brandon Wheat Kings' CKLQ Sportsman's Dinner took place on Thursday night in Brandon at the Keystone Centre's UCT Pavillion.
The event, which is held annually to raise money for the Wheat Kings' scholarship fund, was sold out for the sixth straight year and featured Winnipeg Jets general manager and former Wheat King captain Kevin Cheveldayoff, TSN's Dennis Beyak and comedian Dave Hemstad.
In addition to the dinner, the evening featured both live and silent auctions and among the high bids during the night included special packages from both the Jets and Blue Bombers, a signed Pittsburgh Penguins jersey from Sidney Crosby and autographed jerseys from former Wheat Kings Matt Calvert of Columbus, Calgary's Michael Ferland, Eric Fehr of Pittsburgh and Ottawa Senators' Mark Stone.
Kevin Martin of Branstone Financial purchased the Jets package for $1,650, Community Futures Westman paid $1,400 for the Crosby jersey and Dehr Custom Carpentry got the Bomber package for $1,250.
Besides the auction, the 700 fans in attendance had a chance to win one of close to fifty door prizes.
The Sportsman's Dinner has been a part of the city's social calendar for more than five decades.
The first one was held on May 2, 1959, featuring Father Athol Murray, NHL great Bill Mosienko and baseball player Lefty Gomez in the Brandon Armoury. A second one was held a year later, but the dinner was then mothballed for seven years until 1968. It's been an annual event since.
While the dinner was originally a fundraiser for the community-owned team, it now helps the team fund its scholarship foundation. The team currently has a dozen former players in post-secondary institutions. For each year a player is in the league, he receives a full year of tuition, textbooks and compulsory fees to a post-secondary institution of his choice.
Since the program began in 1993, the WHL has handed out more than 5,000 scholarships, with more than 300 WHL grads attending post-secondary schools each year.
On the ice, the Wheat Kings return to the friendly confines of Westman Place Friday night to host the Prince George Cougars.
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